The theme of this year’s fair is “Surfing to Good Health!” The goal of the Asthma Fair is to develop awareness of childhood asthma and provide resources available in the community. Some of the services that will be offered to the public include: Asthma presentations, “Ask a Doctor”, “Ask a Pharmacist”, Asthma information booths, spirometry readings and other health screenings. Some of the prizes that will be given throughout the fair include a surf board and surfing lessons and a skate board. In addition, the Asthma Fair will feature a few sessions of the presentation “What is Asthma?”, by Wallace Carroll, M.D., an allergist and Chairman of the Stanislaus County Asthma Coalition.

The 2003 California Health Interview Study estimates about 16,000 children under the age of 18 and 47,000 adults 18 years and older have been diagnosed with Asthma in Stanislaus County. The mission of the Stanislaus County Asthma Coalition is to create an “asthma friendly” community by promoting awareness, education, management and prevention. The Health Services Agency, the Stanislaus County Asthma Coalition, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are encouraging Americans to identify and reduce their exposures to environmental triggers in homes and schools, and incorporate environmental controls into their Asthma management plan.

“We expect this fair to be the biggest and best ever”, stated Dr. Carroll, “we hope that lots of young people will want to come for the surfing and skateboarding stuff and stay for the health related program.”

“It is an exciting, educational event where the community and health care professionals gather together working on a common goal to improve the quality of life for children and families with asthma. This is my fifth year of doing this and every time we discover people who don’t know what asthma is, and asthma-related problems”, stated Arlaine Gutierrez, MD., who is a member of the Asthma Coalition.

Those interested in participating can call the Stanislaus County Asthma Coalition at
558-4846 or 558-4588. For more information about the Stanislaus County Asthma Coalition or Asthma in general visit the coalition’s website at www.stanasthma.org